Wishing well game device



Sept 27, 1955 J. STEFANELI.: ETAL wIsHING WELL GAME DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Feb. 27, 1955 Ami um. wh

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ATTD RN EYS WISHING WELL GAME DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 27. 1953 afee/Z2;

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United States LPatent O "ice itV ` WISHING WELLfGauvinnaviera` john steemeui and RaberrtMarteue, Cicero', nl.

' Applicauun'nemy 27, 1953,"seria'1 No. 339,234

3 claims. 161.2734438) This invention relatesl to, games of the type wherein small discs'or coins as playing pieces are deposited in a easing,` and in particular a casing having'slots in the upper e'nd `and wherein coins or discs dropped through slots and falling into receptacles positioned below ,the slots indicate' a point or a predetermined number of points and whereby a player obtaining the greatest number of points isy designated asl the winner of thegarne.

The purpose of this inventioais @provide a game pf skill in which playing pieces dropped' into a `body of water vire influenced by the water to follow the path leading to receivingreceptacles whereby players of the game are` required to' take into consideration the iniluence of vthe water on the'playing pieces.

Variousjtypes of gaines of' theslot machineY type have been provided where coins are thrown or droppedl through (certain paths and whereas it is reasonablypossible to anticipate the path' of a playing piece passing through the air it requires unusualv skill .to anticipate the path of the same' playing piece passingthroughwater. With this thought in mind this inventionconteniplates a vertically disposed transparent casing having a cover plate with disc receiving slots therein rotatably mounted on'the upper end and a plurality of vertically disposed disc receiving cylinders mounted in the lowerpa'rt and positionedy to `receive discsdropped'through the slots of the cover and an inner collar'having spaced inclined'vanes positioned in the lower part of thecasing forreceiving the discs..

The object of this inventionvis, therefore, to provide agarne using discs as playingpieces whereindiscs'dropped through slots in the upper end of `a` casing containing waterpass through the water, and are adapted to drop into receptacles radially positioned in the" lower part of thev casing. j

Another object of the invention isl to provide a game of s kill wherein discs dropped through'slotsin the` Upper end of a casing are inuenced by watern in the casing to drop into or around receptacles in Ithe lower'part of the casing and wherein the discs dropping around the receptacles disappear in the lowerV part of the device.

A further object of the invention is to provide a game of skill'in whichdiscs are droppedl througha` liquid into vreceptacles to determine winning' points of a" game n in which the game is of a comparatively simple and Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description taken in connection with the drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a vertical section through the game device 2,7 19,04 l Patented Sept. 27, 1 955 of this invention, said section being taken through one of the disc receiving receptacles in the lower end of the casing. x y

Figure 2 is a sectionalplan through the casing taken on line 2-2 of Fig. l.

Figure 3 is a plan view' of the casing with part of the upper end of the device broken away showing a bayonet slot whereby the cover is retained in position on the casing at one side, thereof;

Figure 4 is a detail showing a section taken on line 4;4 of- Fig. 3 illustrating one of the coin receiving slots of the cover of the casing. l

Figure 5 is a detailV similar to that shown in Fig. l illustrating the operating elements of One ofthe disc releasing valve members.`

Figure 6 is a detail similar to that shown in Fig. 5 showing the valve releasing means in the upwardly extended or releasing position.

Figure 7 is a detail showing a section through one of the disc receiving cylinders and illustrating the position of a disc on the valve of the cylinder.

Figure 8 isl a section similar to that shown in Fig. 7 showing the coin released from the valve member and dropping downwardly into the receptacle.

Figure 9` is a detail, similar to that shown in Fig. 5 illustrating the parts in an inverted position whereby discs are dumped from the receptacles; y

Figure l() is a vertical section through the receptacle shown in Fig. 9 showing coins dropping from the receptacle.

Figure ll is a detail showing'a plan view of the socket lat'the center of the collar or base and in which the lower end of the stem is positioned.

Figure l2 is an exploded side elevational view illustrating one of the pins and also one of the bayonet slots for retaining the cover on the casing.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters denote corresponding parts the improved wishing well game of this invention includes a casing 10, preferably of transparent material, a cover 11 secured on the upper end of the casing with a rim 12, a collar 13 having inclined baies 14 therein positioned in the lower part of the easing, a plurality of'radially disposed cylinders 15 mounted on a base 16 and having valves 17 therein positioned above the collar 13, a stem 18 slidably mounted inv an opening 19 in the cover 11 and positioned with the lowerv end inl a socket 20 of a post 21 in the center of the collar 13 and levers 22 mounted on the end of a rod 23 extended from the valve 17 and positioned between discs 24 and 25 on the stem 18.

The casing 10, which is preferably formed of a transparent plastic is provided with a'bottorn 26 from which the post 21 extends and a flange'27 which extends upwardly from the periphery facilitates sealing the casing in the bottom. It will be understood, however, that the lower end of the casing may be sealed by other suitable means. The upper end of the casing extends into an annular recess 28 in the lower side of the cover 11 and the rim 12 which is provided with a depending flange 29, is positioned by a pin 30 which, as illustrated in Fig. l2 extendsinto a bayonet slot having a vertical section 31 and a horizontally disposed section 32. The ange 29 is positioned to slide over the upper end of the casing and the peripheral surface of the casing is provided with lugs 33 on the upper ends of which the lower edge of the flange rests. The llange is also provided with a hasp 34 that is connected to a mounting plate 35 with a hinge 36 and, as illustrated in Fig. l the hasp is provided with a slot that extends over a U-fastener 37 on a plate 38 which is secured by screws 39 to a lug 40 on the surface of the casing 10. The mounting plate 35 is secured to the flange 29 of the rim 12 with rivets 41.

By this means a lock may be inserted through the fastener or bail 37 to lock the casing whereby coins deposited in the casing are secured until the casing is opened by the owner of the machine.

The cover 11 is mounted to slide or rotate on the upper end of the casing and to facilitate turning the cover a knob 42 is provided at one side thereof. The cover is also provided with coin slots 43 and 44 which extend through lugs 45 and 46, respectively which extend upwardly from the upper surface of the cover.

The stem 18 extends through the opening 19 in the cover and the lower end of the stem extends into the socket of the post 21 whereby a head 47 of a screw 48 provides a sliding bearing in the socket to facilitate vertical movement of the stem. The upper part of the stem is provided with a collar 49 providing a stop which limits upward movement of the stem preventing the stem being removed from the socket and opening 50 in a hub 51 of the base 16.

A cone 52 is freely positioned on the stem and, as shown in the drawings the cone provides a guide deecting discs from the area directly around the stem.

The cylinders 15, which are formed with beveled upper surfaces 53 have slots 54 in the upper ends and the slots are positioned to receive discs from the slots 43 and 44. The lower ends of the cylinders are provided with openings 55 and these openings in combination with projections 56 in the lower ends of the cylinders prevent discs being retained in the cylinders by suction when the cylinders are inverted, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10 to remove coins or discs therein.

With the bayonet slot 32 positioned as shown in Fig. 12 the pin 30 is inserted through the vertical section of the slot and moved laterally to the position shown in Fig. 3 in which position the slot of the hasp 34 is in registering relation with the bail 37.

It will be noted that the head 47 of the screw 48 engages the lower surface of the hub 51 of the base 16 so that the base and cylinders may be removed by the stem 18.

With the parts assembled in this manner the casing 10 is filled with water or other liquid to the point 57 and as discs or coins are dropped through the slots 43 and 44 they pass through the body of water, dropping upon the upper ends of the cylinders 15 or around the cylinders, in which case the discs or coins pass through the baffles 14 of the collar 13 so that the discs disappear in the lower end of the casing.

Discs passing through the slots 54 in the upper ends of the cylinders 15 count a point or a predetermined number of points and the player accumulating the greatest number of points is the winner of the game.

The discs are removed from the casing by first removing the cover 11, then drawing the cylinders 15 with the base 16 upwardly by the stem 18 whereby the discs are removed from the cylinders by inverting the positions thereof and after these are removed the collar 13 is removed exposing discs in the lower end of the casing.

As play progresses the stem 18 may be drawn upwardly whereby the arms or levers 22 between the washers 24 and are moved upwardly, as shown in Fig. 6 to operate the valves 17 so that coins deposited thereon drop to the lower ends of the cylinders.

It will be understood that modifications, within the scope of the appended claims, may be made in the design and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A game comprising a vertically disposed transparent casing, a cover having disc receiving slots therein journaled on the upper end of the casing, radially disposed cylinders having slots in the upper ends freely mounted in the lower part of the casing and positioned whereby the slots are adapted to receive discs from the slots in the cover, means for retaining discs in the upper part of the cylinders, means for releasing the disc retaining means from the upper end of the casing and a disc receiving collar with inclined surfaces therein positioned in the lower end of the casing.

2. In a game, the combination which comprises a cylindrical casing having a sealed lower end, a cover having disc receiving slots therein mounted to rotate on the upper end of the casing, a centrally positioned vertically disposed stem extended from the lower part of the casing through an opening in the cover thereof, said stem having spaced washers thereon, vertically positioned radially disposed cylinders with slots in the upper ends positioned around said stem, a cone freely mounted on the stem and positioned to guide discs from the slots of the cover toward the area around the radially disposed cylinders, valves in said radially disposed cylinders for retaining discs dropped therein adjacent the upper ends of the cylinders, levers extended from the valves between the washers on the stem for operating the valves by the stem, and a collar having inclined surfaces therein mounted in the lower end of the casing and upon which said radially disposed cylinders are positioned.

3. A game comprising a transparent cylindrical casing, a cover having coin receiving slots therein positioned on said casing, lugs having coin receiving openings therein mounted on the cover and positioned over said slots, a centrally positioned stem slidably mounted in the casing and extended through the cover, a base carried by said stem, vertically positioned radially disposed coin receiving cylinders mounted on said base and having slots in upper ends thereof, coin retaining valves pivotally mounted in said cylinders and having rods extended from the cylinders, means on the stem for engaging the extended rods of the valves of the cylinders for actuating said valves to drop coins thereon with upward movement of said stem, a cone carried by the stem and positioned to deect coins deposited in the slots of the cover toward the slots of the cylinders, and a collar having inclined surfaces in the upper part thereof positioned in the lower part of the casing and adapted to receive coins passing around said cylinders.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,007,216 Rogers July 9, 1935 2,048,077 McDermott July 21, 1936 2,482,893 Bawden Sept. 27, 1949 

